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India's naval modernisation gets a Rs 53,866 crore boost with contracts for eight Next Generation Corvettes. (Img: X)
New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence on Monday signed contracts worth Rs 53,866.50 crore with two state-owned shipbuilding companies for the construction of eight Next Generation Corvettes (NGCs) for the Indian Navy. The agreements were signed with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
Under the arrangement, GRSE will construct five of the warships, while the remaining three will be built by GSL. The project is being viewed as a significant step towards strengthening India's indigenous capabilities in warship design and manufacturing.
According to the Ministry of Defence, the programme marks the first instance in which warships designed indigenously by the Indian Navy will be constructed by Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) selected through a competitive bidding process. The initiative is expected to deepen domestic expertise in naval shipbuilding while encouraging greater participation of Indian defence manufacturers and industrial partners.
The Ministry said the vessels would incorporate advanced technological systems, including sophisticated missiles, weapon platforms and sensor suites. These capabilities are expected to enable the corvettes to undertake operations across the air, surface and sub-surface domains.
The induction of the eight corvettes is expected to expand the Navy's operational capabilities across several maritime security domains. The vessels will be deployed for missions involving anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine operations, coastal protection and combat activities in littoral waters. They will also contribute to the surveillance of India's maritime approaches and protection of vital international trade routes.
The warships are envisaged as versatile combat platforms capable of undertaking maritime reconnaissance, surveillance, search-and-attack operations and other strategic assignments. Their induction is expected to strengthen the Navy's ability to maintain a sustained presence in strategically important maritime areas.
The programme is also expected to generate substantial employment opportunities and provide a boost to India's defence manufacturing ecosystem. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the construction programme would generate approximately 72 lakh person-days of employment at the shipyards and another 460 lakh person-days across ancillary industries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) over the next ten years.
The project is expected to encourage closer cooperation between defence public sector companies, private shipyards and domestic industrial partners.
It will also promote the use of indigenous materials, equipment and technologies, in keeping with the government's broader objective of reducing dependence on foreign suppliers and advancing self-reliance in defence production.
The Next Generation Corvette programme had received the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council in June 2022, with an initially estimated cost of approximately Rs 36,000 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Security subsequently cleared the project, paving the way for the finalisation of contracts with the two shipyards.
The latest agreements represent a major addition to the Navy's modernisation programme and form part of India's broader efforts to strengthen its maritime preparedness and domestic defence industrial base.
